THE USE OF A FEEDBACK SYSTEMS INCORPORATED WITH A MORPHOLOGICAL MATRIX FOR PRODUCT/SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT.

by Hargrove, Walter Edward

Abstract (Summary)

Critical steps in the design process is the gathering of data, processing the data into a useful form of information (a design concept) which meets specific needs, passing this refined design solution down the path to production, where it is released into the larger environment. With in the designing process there are multiple feedback loops as the solution becomes more refined. Even as it reaches the final end user, other design refinement feedback loops continue as new and improved products or systems. Along with the interdisciplinary teams involved with the product/system development, the more complexity the product or system becomes the more critical the organization of the data becomes. This paper will present and test a concept of a design feedback and feed forward communication tool for product/system design that uses Dr. Walter A. Schaers Three Functions of an Artifact as the methodological structure for design development.
The essence of this design tool is the merging of a new communication system within an existing methodology of organizing complex systems into a morphological matrix, developed by Dr. Walter A. Schaer, based on the Charles Morriss work on semiotics. This communication tool is a new feedback / feed forward mechanism which correspond with the semiotic structure in a morphological matrix to assist the designer develop design solutions. The research will measure the success rate of the tool in the design process, examine of how the designers took advantage of the new tool, and evaluate their perception of its usefulness.